John K Posted November 30, 2014 Share Posted November 30, 2014 All I needed to do was change to coolant to make sure the antifreeze was tickety boo... But Mr Grumpy hadn't been started for about two months so I was expecting a few fun and games. Draining the old coolant went OK, about 4 litres came out the bottom rad hose. Poured two litres of new antifreeze into the thermostat housing and all I had to do was get him running to mix it up a bit. I nearly got him going before I flattened the battery. So off to Machine Mart to get one of their beefy charger/starters. 2 hours drive to Cheltenham... £100 odd later I was back in the shed. To start the charging, I disconnected the earth and the other end of the cable came out of the crimp. No worries, I needed to change the ignition leads as they were the wrong colours any way so off to Halfords. 45 mins drive to Evesham. Got two new 30" red and black cables and two new battery terminal clamps. And a new 240v inspection lamp as its getting dark early. Went to fit the supplied bulb into the holder, it broke in my hand. So after stopping the bleeding, I picked up all the shards of glass and fitted another bulb. The charger was attached and set to boost and I went in for lunch. Went to fit the cables, the negative spade was too small for the bolt on the engine housing, but no worries, that is what rat tailed files are for. After attaching the non battery end of both cables, I then realised the battery post clamps would not fit the spades on the ends of the cables, so back to Halfords. Another 45 mins drive to Evesham... One exchange later I am back in the shed. Re-attached all the cables and then wondered why two fingers of the blue plastic gloves were full of blood. Turns out a few of the cuts from the broken bulb were deeper than I thought. A bit of electricians tape later and I was good to go. Even though the charger had a start mode, I thought I would try the battery after 1 hour of boost and 2 hours of regular charge... By Jiminy Cricket, it had bought that battery back to life. Mr Grumpy fired up a treat and ran enough to circulate the fluids. But really... 4 hours work and the best part of 3 hours driving just to change the coolant..? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KugaWestie Posted November 30, 2014 Share Posted November 30, 2014 Nothing is straight forward Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stuart Posted November 30, 2014 Share Posted November 30, 2014 Changing my coolant this week hope it goes just a little smoother...... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stu Faulkner Posted November 30, 2014 Share Posted November 30, 2014 It all adds character to the car, And a story to tell the Grand kids Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Eastwood (Gadgetman) - Club Chairman Posted November 30, 2014 Share Posted November 30, 2014 Can you not use rough service bulbs in the lamp? On on the other issues, now you're geared up for any starting charging issues with the Westfield and tin tops! As as far as the Westfield goes, you're entitled to sit back smugly now and consider the aggro of strange electrical/running faults that would have been a pain to diagnose that you have neatly avoided by spotting and fixing, the dodgy crimped joint! Seriously, don't underestimate how much intermittent grief that could have started to cause you eventually. A job well done, new shiny tools, that's a win win in my book! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
B.RAD Posted November 30, 2014 Share Posted November 30, 2014 Pain, blood, frustration, satisfaction - that's the kit car formula for magic isn't it?? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John K Posted November 30, 2014 Author Share Posted November 30, 2014 Minor update... The charger was a Clarke BC190, blinking epic... In 3 hours it got the battery back to life. And it hums like a power station..! And after a shower I borrowed the wifes dressing gown. What can I say... It smells nicer than mine... I didn't realise I was still bleeding quite a bit. And now I am in the dog house for bleeding all over her white toweling dressing gown... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Young Pretender Posted November 30, 2014 Share Posted November 30, 2014 Can you not use rough service bulbs in the lamp? I didn't even know such a thing existed - do love the little gems you can pick up here Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John K Posted November 30, 2014 Author Share Posted November 30, 2014 I didn't even know such a thing existed - do love the little gems you can pick up here Linky please as to where I can get these... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Eastwood (Gadgetman) - Club Chairman Posted November 30, 2014 Share Posted November 30, 2014 Most (Trade) electrical suppliers (the City Electrical type places), Screwfix, builders merchants, on line, here for example, Amazon, lots of places. Rough Service bulbs are used in things like inspection lamps, festoon lighting on building sites etc. they're basically a tougher version of a traditional tungsten lamp. (Stronger, better supported filaments etc). They stand up to being banged around and so on much better than ordinary lamps. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John K Posted November 30, 2014 Author Share Posted November 30, 2014 Mucho greasy ass, will order a bunch tomorrow. I am still rebuilding bits of the house and the regular bulbs do take a beating. These sound just the ticket. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Terryathome Posted November 30, 2014 Share Posted November 30, 2014 Never mind. it could have been worse LOL Terry Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul Hurdsfield - Joint Manchester AO Posted November 30, 2014 Share Posted November 30, 2014 her white toweling dressing gown... Oh c'mon we'd much rather hear about a sexy silk kimono. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cleggy the Spyder Man Posted November 30, 2014 Share Posted November 30, 2014 when things are going that bad I just shut the door to the garage Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John K Posted November 30, 2014 Author Share Posted November 30, 2014 Oh c'mon we'd much rather hear about a sexy silk kimono. I've been married for fluffy knows how long. Silky kimonos only feature on certain internet web sites... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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